This could be the end of the road

Sunday

Apr 28, 2013 at 12:01 AMApr 28, 2013 at 6:25 AM

With the Celtics down 0-3 to the New York Knicks, it's never felt more over than it does now.

TIM WEISBERG

It's over.

I know that's been written about these Boston Celtics numerous times, for numerous years, and they've always found a way to prove us wrong. Now, though, as they find themselves down 0-3 to the New York Knicks, it's never felt more over than it does now.

"You're down 0-3, it's a simple message: You've got to win the next one," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "It's simple. And that's where it starts."

And if they don't, then this is where it all ends.

When you drive an old, beat-up car (like I do) for too long, you find ways to kid yourself into thinking you can keep it going forever — a brake job here, a set of new tires there, maybe even a fresh coat of paint. But in the end, the engine dies, and you're just stuck on the side of the road as everyone else passes you by.

That's what happens when the Celtics lost Rajon Rondo for the season; they lost their motor. They lost what keeps them going, and no amount of paint or duct tape can cover up that fact.

Sure, the Celts could win today. In fact, I fully expect that they will. But it's really just prolonging the inevitable, something that we've really all known since Rondo went down — Boston can't win without him in the playoffs. They were already a flawed team, but now they're one with a gaping hole at the point that is carrying over across the entire team.

Watching these Celtics try to keep up the Knicks is like watching your grandmother try to play Candy Crush Saga on the Kindle you gave her for Christmas. It's like watching someone logging on to AOL and wondering why nobody ever sends them an instant message anymore. It's a team that is now past its prime, trying to stay relevant when age has finally overtaken them. It's ironic it came against the Knicks and their slate of AARP-eligible players.

Celtics captain Paul Pierce, for one, didn't expect to be in such a hole.

"You know, I was surprised. I thought we were a team that matched up really well with the Knicks. I thought we played them pretty good throughout the season," he said. "We lost a couple close ones but I didn't expect this coming in. I knew this would be a long series, the way we matched up, so I am surprised we're down 0-3 right now."

Should fans be surprised that the Celtics were so easily beaten? Perhaps. Should they be upset that it's over? Well, that's probably inevitable, but it's not exactly fair. This has been a long time coming. Maybe we were all wearing the blinders, but we should have seen the writing on the wall.

But sometimes, ignorance is bliss, and ignoring the eventual end was necessary as we enjoyed the ride.

In the first two games of the series, the Celtics did enough to lead going into halftime, but then fell apart in the second half. In Game 3, they went the opposite route, and turned in a stinker of a first half, scoring a total of just 31 points in the first two quarters.

"We have to figure it out. We have got to do a better job of knocking down open shots, we've got to get to the free-throw line, got to move the ball," Pierce said. "Can't turn the ball over. We turned the ball over a lot (in Game 3) and I think that's something that's biting us."

Pierce is averaging 5.3 turnovers per game, and they've been costly — but to be fair, with Rondo out, Pierce has been asked to do too much. Playing point-forward, setting up his teammates, creating his own shot, carrying the offensive load and defending against Carmelo Anthony takes a toll. Yet it's not just Pierce; overall, Boston has turned the ball over 51 times in the series, compared to the Knicks' 35 turnovers. That's too many extra opportunities for a team that has been in an offensive groove for months now.

The Celtics, meanwhile, are in an offensive funk.

"Right now, at this point, we just have to take it one game at a time. They haven't won it yet," Jeff Green said. "As long as we're still playing, we have a chance. It's a new game"»we just have to leave it all on the floor."

There's no need to really point it out, but we will anyway — no NBA team has ever come back from an 0-3 deficit to win a playoff series. Ever. And that list includes many teams that likely appeared to have a lot more life left in them than these Celtics.

The real question is in regards to the future. If today is the end of the season, is it also the end of an era? Does Kevin Garnett, or even Pierce, leave money on the table and walk away after a season in which they've been beaten up and, ultimately, beaten?

After all, Garnett played his heart out for the Minnesota Timberwolves, and even after a dismal 2006 he was initially torn about whether or not to leave Minnesota when the Boston trade went down. Is this how KG goes out? Because as he goes, so does this era in Boston basketball history.

"I'm going to play until it's over," Garnett said. "I'm not easily broken. That's always been my mentality, and it probably always will be. I've been to the bottom before. I know what it is. I'm a fighter at the end of the day."

That's an attitude that has permeated these Celts since Garnett's arrival. It's allowed us to think that they're never out of the fight, when it's so painfully obvious — such as right now — that there's no fight left in them.

Tim Weisberg covers the Boston Celtics for The Standard-Times. Contact him at timweisberg@hotmail.com.